AI
by MoonlitePage
Summary: Virtual reality gaming had never interested Steve much, but when Tony and Sam insisted he play Redemption he couldn't let them down. A little glitch and unbelievable meeting later Steve finds himself a new best friend. Bucky Barnes, the POW NPC who might be in more trouble than any of them thought. Stucky, eventual Winter Soldier, Howling Commandos, Avengers, Superpowers, AU
1. Chapter 1

Steve would never call himself a gamer. Until today he'd only touched his DeepDive VR Gaming Rig once, and that was when he had opened the gift wrapped box for Christmas seven months ago. And then, for his birthday, Tony got him Redemption. The best and most versatile VRMMO on the market (at least according to the box). And even then, he had only agreed to play after Sam also demanded Steve join them in the game and guilt tripped him by mentioning how upset Tony would be if Steve didn't use his gift at least once.

And so, Steve sat on his bed with the helmet in his hands and a softly ticking clock in the background. He's supposed to join Sam and his guild in about two hours and Sam had warned him getting set up took some time. Finally he just sighed, stuck the helmet on, and laid down on his bed. He pressed the button on the helmet that would supposedly connect him in five seconds (counted down by a five gentle chimes). Everyone said it was just like falling asleep, except you knew exactly when it happened.

To Steve, it felt more like he was just falling.

* * *

He opened his eyes to a gray room. The floor was warm under his bare feet but looking down was disorienting because he couldn't actually _see_ his feet. Or the rest of his body.

"Welcome, new player, to Redemption!" Steve jumped at the voice and looked up to see… a holographic hooded figure and text repeating what had been said floating in front of… it? Them? Steve had no way to tell if it was a male or female or if it was even either or considered something else entirely since it was an A.I. "I am here to guide you through your character creation sequence and a basic game tutorial. Do you know what username you wish to use or would you like to wait until later to decide?"

Nothing popped up to select and so Steve tentatively offered "Later?"

Apparently that was enough because the A.I. immediately moved on. "Very well. Please, select your gender." Multiple holographic images appeared. They all cycled through various pre-built character models based on the numerous races and classes. Steve was pleased to see that SHIELD really had included more than just male and female options (which had gotten them some negative pushback when they had announced it was planned but most people had been excited). Even if he just selected male for himself.

The male icon expanded and separated into two. One was cycling through the class choices while the other did the same for races. He decided to pick his race first (it's not like he couldn't change it after). There were the basics; humans, elves, dwarves, etc. The animal races; several variations of cat and dog people, bird people (two types: one with wings on their backs and one with wings for arms; Sam was one but Steve didn't know which), bear people, and an option to customize something more unusual. And some more fantastical races; cyborgs, fairies, devils/demons, angels, etc. It was overwhelming and so Steve just decided to stick with human.

If he'd thought there had been a lot of choices for races, the classes had even more. SHIELD had advertised Redemption as the most customizable game on the market and it was certainly looking to live up to the title. There were basic classes (warrior, archer, assassin, rogue, monk, priest), fantasy classes (warlock, witch, multiple different fairy and elf types, knight, animal tamer, mer, druid), dark classes (necromancer, psychic, ghost hunter, ghost, werewolf, vampire), and even some random and event/theme inspired classes like various gods (Norse, Greek, Egyptian) or from TV shows and movies (Jedi and Sith, Vulcan, Na'vi).

But it was another group, titled Superheroes, that caught his attention. There were lots of options with all the common powers like flight, invisibility, and telekinesis, but it was the one titled simply Super Soldier that drew him in.

The holographic icon looked very much like what Steve sometimes found himself wishing was the image looking back at him from the mirror. Tall and strong, with firm muscles, large shoulders, and a thin waist (the one thing he did have in common with this seemingly ideal version). Even in the holograph the man's face was the definition of heroic. He stood brave and tall and proud with a brilliant smile on his handsome chiseled face. Steve felt like he was in a daze and didn't even glance at the stats or abilities of the class or anything. He just pointed and said "that one".

"Very good. Would you like us to create a model based on our records of your appearance? You will be able to alter it as you like afterwards." The A.I. Steve had completely forgotten about asked in that same friendly but flat voice it had been using the whole time.

"Uh… sure." Steve agreed hesitantly, because he had a feeling having his body merged with the super soldier's was going to destroy the wonderful body the super soldier had. As soon as the words were out of his mouth the other class holographs had disappeared, leaving just him and the A.I. in the gray room. And in a surprisingly short amount of time a new model appeared, except this one was colored and looked… human. Steve had expected all the faces in the game to be in the uncanny valley, if for no other reason than he was an artist and noticed that stuff more than others. But it wasn't. It looked utterly real.

Even stranger was that the model was _him_. Just also not. Like the A.I. had said, it was him merged with the super soldier and amazingly it didn't look mangled or wrong. They had an almost identical facial structure, except it seemed to fit on the super soldier's face better and the model had a stronger jaw. They had the same pale Irish skin. Same blue eyes, same full lips, close to the same blond hair (though in different styles). It was boggling how accurate the game had gotten it. But he didn't want to change anything, except the clothes. The super soldier wore white underwear and nothing else and no matter how muscular the model was Steve would not be comfortable in only that.

"Is this satisfactory or would you like to make alterations?" The AI asked.

"Uh… I can change the clothes, right?" He asked.

"Of course. You may move on to do so now, if you wish, however it is recommended you make any desired physical changes first, including any tattoos." The AI informed him.

"Oh. Um, no, I'm fine without so just take me to clothes." Steve requested. The A.I. acknowledged the request with a tilt off his head and Steve spent 30 minutes (according to the clock on his menu screen) deciding on an outfit and its colors. It was just as he was nearly done that he realized something; colors looked different here. Sharper, clearer, more like what he imagined they would be rather than how he usually saw them. "Hey, are players not affected by color blindness while playing?" He asked.

"No. Color blindness is dependent on your physical body being unable to receive certain light wavelengths. In Virtual Reality the colors are transmitted directly to your brain and therefore do not need to pass through your retina." The A.I. answered and Steve was just the tiniest bit impressed. He'd heard that the A.I. SHIELD used for it's NPCs was incredibly advanced, but he hadn't realized how advanced until now. Because that could not be a common question.

"Well… good to know. Thank you." He finally said and turned back to his character. The super soldier now wore a mostly navy military-esc uniform, with some red and white details because he loved how bright the colors were. But something was missing. "Excuse me, can I choose a weapon?" He asked the A.I.

"Of course." Immediately a bunch of options popped up like swords, shields, axes, and a miscellaneous category. "The weapons highlighted in orange are specific to your class and you will receive additional bonuses for using them."

Steve spent about ten minutes going through them all, but nothing jumped out at him. Not until he got into the miscellaneous category, anyway, and came across what looked like a circular shield with an orange glow around it. "Hey, why is this shield in miscellaneous?" He asked, and for the first time got no answer. The A.I. was there, but it didn't react at all, as if he hadn't spoken. Slightly eerie, but Steve shrugged it off. Redemption was still fairly new (and basically the first of its kind in terms of fully immersive virtual reality) so there were bound to be a couple bugs here and there.

He tapped on the shield and read through what the pop-up said about it. It was for the super soldier class only and meant to be used on it's own, rather than in addition to a sword. It could be thrown or swung and was intended to be used as both a shield and a weapon. Steve quickly decided on the color scheme, red and white rings complete with a white star on a blue background in the middle, and added it to his character. It looked right at home.

"Alright. I think I'm done." Steve announced.

"Very good. Please be advised: your clothing, hair style, and weapons can all be altered later, usually for a fee of in game currency. If you wish to alter your race, class, or body shape you must either create a new character or pay a fee of real currency to do so. Are you sure you do not wish to make any additional changes?" The A.I. asked.

Steve gave his character another quick look to double check before he nodded. "I'm sure." He confirmed confidently.

"Very good. Your character has been locked. Please input the name of your character now." The A.I. requested and a keyboard popped up. Steve considered it for a moment then typed in his choice as he tried to ignore the fact that he couldn't see his fingers even though he could feel the keys as he pressed them.

"Very good. Please say your character's name the way you wish for it to be pronounced." The A.I. instructed.

Steve took a moment and then, as clearly as he could, said "Nomad."

There was a chime and then the A.I. said "Is Nomad correct?" Once again Steve was momentarily blown away at how quickly it had adapted. And sure, his chosen name wasn't hard, but the A.I. wasn't just playing back his pronunciation or voice. It had actually said it for itself, with its own intonation.

Then he realized the A.I. was waiting for an answer. "Yes, that's correct." He confirmed.

"Very good. Are you ready to move on to the tutorial?" The A.I. asked.

"Yes, please." Steve agreed. The world flashed white around him and Steve actually felt like his body was growing, until the light faded and he was left standing in… a dark cement hallway with boxes covered with tarps at various places, dust in the air, and exposed swinging light bulbs. It smelled damp and left a chill on his skin and reminded Steve of a cliché villain's hideout. Steve could immediately hear a commotion; a fight nearby.

He took a step and immediately realized the hallway wasn't just small. He was really tall (6 foot 2 inches, the height of his character model to be exact) and he'd need time to get used to this new body because it felt different. He felt like a baby giraffe, with long, gangly, clumsy limbs. A moment later he realized the A.I. from before, who had said that it was going to guide him through the tutorial, was nowhere to be seen. And a moment after that someone collided with him and they both went sprawling on the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Whoever hit him recovered first and leapt up, pulling him up as well. Steve barely had time to take in brown hair and tattered clothes before the man was pushing at him and ordering him to "Hurry up and start running already!"

So he got his body moving and actually kept pace with the brunet who'd run into him. Once he was no longer dazed from their collision he was able to take in a few more details. The man was tall and muscular like him (though a very small bit shorter), with brown hair and icy blue eyes. He was dressed in worn military pants and boots with a weathered green long-sleeved undershirt. There was a rifle on his back as well as a pistol in his hand.

"What's going on?" Steve asked and the man gave him a strange look before whipping his head back around to face forward.

"Get down!" He shoved Steve behind some boxes and a moment later the air where they had been was filled with bullets. "What do you mean, what's going on?" He asked roughly.

"Um, well, I'm new and I thought I was supposed to be going to a tutorial and instead I'm here so…" Steve began to offer. He was cut off by a heavy groan from the brunet.

"Of course I get stuck with a newbie. Alright, listen closely, we're in an enemy base and need to escape. The way out is through them." He pointed towards where the bullets were coming from. "Don't hold back fighting; they don't feel pain. And keep an eye on your health. Any questions?" The brunet spoke quickly, but Steve was able to keep up.

"Not for the moment." Steve offered.

"Good. Then just follow my lead." The brunet had a cocky warm smile and Steve's heart actually skipped a beat because he was _gorgeous_. And then the brunet had launched himself over their cover, returning fire with a spray of bullets of his own. Steve hurried after the brunet and found that using the shield was almost instinctive. His body moved with a sense of fluidity he'd never had in real life. And he quickly discovered he could hit hard enough to send enemies flying several feet back.

He also fought in synchronicity with the brunet, whose unfailing aim was slightly terrifying. This guy had to be an experienced player to move like he did and together they mowed through the enemy troops easily. Steve was surprised by how intuitive fighting was to his new body. The underground levels were still tricky because they had enemies coming at them from both ways, but it didn't take them long to find a stairwell leading up.

It opened into a warehouse or factory of some kind and they had to fight their way through it, too. But here Steve had more room and quickly realized that his shield just did not obey the laws of real world physics as it could bounce off multiple surfaces before always finding its way back to him. It was also totally bulletproof and even withstood the larger cannon-like guns that fired blue energy at them even if it knocked him back a bit. Steve had a feeling it was way more powerful than a new arrival like him should have, but he was thankfully for it anyway.

They eventually broke out of the now flaming warehouse and ran into the woods surrounding the building. They still had people chasing them, but they were getting further and further behind. Steve's health was a little lower than he was comfortable with (in the orange) but considering it was his first time in VR Steve thought he'd done very well.

He also wasn't all that tired either. The game didn't have a stamina bar in the traditional sense, but players would experience fatigue just like in the real world. But Steve wasn't feeling it yet. He and the brunet ran for a while, until the sounds of people chasing them began to fade, and Steve couldn't help marveling at their surroundings once he wasn't in immediate danger. It looked like a northern forest, filled with enormous pine trees that rustled as an almost icy wind blew through. The air itself felt chilled and it smelled like a real forest. There wasn't any clipping or artifacting or lag. For all intents and purposes, it felt real.

"You don't have a compass or a map, do you?" The brunet asked suddenly and Steve frowned.

"I don't think so." He said and the brunet sighed. He turned his gaze skyward and after a moment nodded.

"Alright. We've got to go this way. South, to reach the base." He said, as he pointed slightly off to their left and Steve nodded. He let the brunet lead them and they walked in silence, side by side, for a few moments before Steve had to speak up.

"So, hey, I think I know the answer to this, but this isn't how the game usually starts for new players, right?" Steve asked and the brunet shook his head.

"Hardly. The tutorial is in a separate area and then you should have been sent to Corewyn, the world's capitol. How you ended up in Azzano, I don't know." The brunet said.

Steve sighed. "Well, Redemption is still new. There are bound to be some bugs. Sorry to make you give me a tutorial." He said and the brunet laughed.

"It's fine. You got me out." He replied and Steve tilted his head.

"Were you a prisoner?" Steve asked and the brunet slowed down from a jog to a walk before he stopped entirely, looking Steve over with confusion as the blond came to a stop beside him.

"Yes. Why do you sound surprised by that?" The brunet questioned. He still looked confused and now Steve was confused too.

"I didn't think players could be captured like that." Steve said and the brunet's eyes widened.

He opened his mouth only to close it and sigh. "Right. Newbie. You really didn't do any research about the world before coming here?" He asked and Steve shook his head. The brunet sighed again. "Okay. Look at my eyes closely." He instructed.

Steve frowned but did as instructed. After studying the man's eyes for a few moments a ring of reflective silver suddenly appeared around his pupils. Steve gasped softly and the brunet nodded. "You see it? That silver ring differentiates NPCs from actual players." The brunet informed him.

For several long seconds Steve could only blink. "You're… an NPC?" He finally mumbled, because he couldn't believe it, and the brunet nodded.

"Pretty impressive, right? Not all of us have AIs as advanced as mine, though, because I'm… well, I have a story arc, for lack of a better term. I'm important." The brunet offered and Steve was pretty sure his eyes wouldn't get any wider. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that this man was a _program_. He seemed so utterly real.

"A story arc?" Steve finally repeated and the brunet smiled but waved a finger at him like he was scolding Steve.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not allowed to give details. Technically, I shouldn't be saying any of this at all, but you're a unique case. Oh! I need to give you credit for completing the mission." The brunet suddenly straightened up as he put the rifle back onto his back and offered his hand to shake. "I'm Sergeant James Buchannan Barnes and thank you very much for rescuing me from Azzano." He declared brightly.

Steve accepted the offered hand with a cautious "you're welcome?" As soon as they shook hands a box popped up in his field of view stating _'Congratulations, you've completed stage one of __**The PO**__W quest storyline, __**The Rescue**__, and received the following rewards'_, followed by a list of items and bonuses and gained skills.

James was still smiling at him when he finally looked up from the popup and added "You can call me Bucky" with a playful smirk on his face and even a wink.

Steve couldn't help laughing a little and then he frowned. "I don't know how to close the popup." He finally admitted and Bucky doubled over as he burst into laughter. He was laughing so hard he could barely breathe and it took him a while to finally take a breath deep enough to say anything.

"Just swipe it." He wheezed as he struggled to straighten up. Steve swiped it and it disappeared but Bucky's smile hadn't faded in the slightest and he was still snickering.

Steve couldn't help smiling back and for a few moments they just stood there smiling at each other. "We should probably keep going, right?" He reminded and Bucky nodded.

"Yes." He agreed and they started walking again, side-by-side. It was comfortable and companionable and every time he met Bucky's eye he noticed that little silver ring that reminded him that _Bucky wasn't human_. But he felt human, down to the little mannerisms Steve wasn't even sure Bucky knew about. And Steve was absolutely sure he'd never met anyone like him.


	3. Chapter 3

They walked for a while, occasionally talking to one another, but it was never awkward or uncomfortable. And before long a camp came into sight and Bucky paused. "That's Home Base." He said with pride then his expression faltered. "Steve, I should warn you. When we enter the grounds my program will be… well, reset. I'll still know you and remember what happened, except for the stuff we aren't supposed to talk about like story arcs."

Steve frowned but nodded. "But you'll remember the rest?" He asked and Bucky nodded, offering a warm smile.

"Yes. Now come on." Bucky tapped him on the shoulder with his knuckles before he stepped past. "Let's go make a ruckus." He sounded far too excited by the prospect and Steve couldn't help following him as he led them up to the base. As soon as they entered he got another quest popup; _'Congratulations, you've completed stage two of __**The POW**__ quest storyline, __**Return to Base**__, and received the following rewards.'_

But Steve was far more interested in what was happening around them. There were a lot of soldiers around wearing complete versions of the tattered one Bucky wore. There had to be a few NPCs mixed into the crowd, but the only way Steve could really tell the difference was because they all seemed to know Bucky while the others didn't. And because the players seemed to be more interested in him than in Bucky.

For a few minutes, it was a mess. Everyone was trying to ask them questions, shouting over one another, but they cleared a path to allow a man to walk up to them. He had more decorations on his uniform and it was obvious enough that he was higher up the chain. Bucky saluted him, confirming Steve's suspicion. "Glad to have you back, Sergeant Barnes." The man said.

"Glad to be back, colonel." Bucky answered brightly. Steve caught the flicker of silver in the colonel's eyes that confirmed he was an NPC.

"You two need to come with me for a debrief." The colonel ordered. Thankfully everyone around them let Steve and Bucky follow the man through the crowd without trying to stop them. Once they moved inside a large tent, the outside sounds vanished to almost nothing in a way that wasn't totally natural. There was a table with a map on it and some chairs, but only one other occupant. A beautiful woman in the same brown military uniform as everyone else with curly shoulder-length brown hair and bright red lips.

"Alright, Sergeant, why don't you fill us in on everything you know?" The colonel asked and Bucky started talking. Steve was entirely caught up in listening to him as he talked about Azzano and pointed out the other HYDRA bases he'd discovered on the map. Once they were done Colonel Chester Phillips, whose name Steve had picked up earlier, turned to him.

"Alright, Captain. You can accept or not, but it's only fair I offer you the chance to wipe out these bases first." Colonel Phillips said and Steve nodded.

"I'd love to." He agreed, only realizing after that Phillips had called him 'captain' and the Colonel actually smiled for the first time.

"You'll need a team. We can help put one together or you can choose one of your own." Peggy Carter reminded.

"I can do that." Steve said and she nodded.

"Excellent, then just come see me as soon as you're ready to go after the first base." Colonel Phillips said and finally he and Bucky were allowed to leave.

The excitement had died down a bit outside, but there was still an excited buzz in the air and a number of people looked in their direction with awe filled eyes. Bucky nodded at him to follow and led them through the camp to a tent. They both went inside and Bucky flopped onto one of two cots in the room. Steve chuckled.

"Tired?" He asked and Bucky shrugged.

"A bit." He sat up as Steve took a seat on the other bed. There was a ding, followed by a popup that said '_Would you like to claim this bed?'_. He tapped yes and the ding came again as the popup disappear. And then Bucky spoke. "So, are we heading out right away?"

Steve almost said yes, but then he remembered he was supposed to be meeting Sam at some point, probably soon, and shouldn't start something like that just yet. "No. Soon though." He said and Bucky nodded before he fell back on the bed.

"I'm just going to take a nap, then. Wake me up when you're ready to go." Bucky requested before he curled up and moments later was asleep. Steve spent a few moments marveling about it before there was another ding, this time different from the mission notifications ding but still a system notification of some kind.

Opening his menu he saw he had an incoming call from Sam. When he tapped accept it opened up to a video feed that showed Sam's avatar. It startled Steve for a moment and apparently Sam was surprised too given how they both just silently stared at one another for several seconds. Finally Sam nodded. "Well, I wasn't expecting you to look different, but I really should have. Anyway, hi, Steve!" Sam said and Steve smiled.

"Hi Sam." He replied.

"Welcome to Redemption. Enjoying it so far?" Sam asked and Steve nodded.

"A lot more than I expected." He admitted and Sam laughed.

"Alright, well, where are you?" Sam asked.

"Uh, I think it's called Home Base? In the War Zone?" Steve answered and Sam looked once again surprised.

"How'd you end up there? Wait, never mind, tell me later. You should come join us if you aren't in the middle of something." Sam requested and Steve nodded.

"I can do that. Well… you'll have to tell me how to do that. But I can do that." Steve admitted and Sam laughed.

He moved, doing something on his menu, before another popup appeared. _'Falcon has sent you an invite to join him.'_ "There, just accept and you'll teleport to us." Sam said. Steve glanced at Bucky, still sound asleep, before he hit accept. Just like after the character creation the world flashed white and then he found himself standing in a lounge.

Sam, or Sam's avatar, was standing nearby. He had kept most of his actual traits, just like Steve had, except for the pair of brown wings on his back (no doubt styled after a falcon) and different clothes. He smiled when Steve appeared but that smile changed to amazement. "Dang Steve! How tall are you?"

Steve chuckled to himself because he really was big. It hadn't seemed that way around Bucky, but around Sam he felt so very tall. It was different, but not a bad thing. "Uh, 6 foot 2." He answered and Sam whistled.

"You look like you could bench press a tank." Sam declared and Steve laughed.

"I might be able to. The class stats said I was super strong, but I haven't really tested it." Steve offered and Sam just laughed.

"Alright, well, welcome to the Avengers lounge. It's for guild members and friends only. Let me introduce everyone." Sam pointed towards a woman in black with red hair. "Natasha, goes by Black Widow. Clint, called Hawkeye. And you know Bruce, but his username is Hulk." Sam finished up.

Bruce was the only one Steve had seen who was bigger than him. He was green and muscular and Steve's head just about reached his shoulder. It was a strange contrast to Bruce's real frame (he was only a little bigger than Steve in real life but still shorter than most). "Hello, Steve." Bruce said and Steve smiled at him.

"Hey, Bruce. Your avatar look good." He said and Bruce smiled.

"Thank you. So does yours." Bruce replied.

"And it's nice to meet everyone." Steve added as he smiled at the others around the room, who waved at him. "Where's Tony?" Steve asked and Sam shrugged.

"Running late, no doubt. Now tell me what you were doing in the War Zone." Sam insisted and Steve laughed.

"Well, I ended up there by accident. I was supposed to go to the tutorial but I…" Before Steve could finish a white light appeared in the room.

It didn't last long and then Tony was there in the room with them. He looked much like he did in real life but had on an outfit that would probably never have been possible with the way the metal parts hung off his body seemingly unattached to anything. And before Steve could even say 'hello' Tony was talking. "Oh my god! Have you guys seen the news?!" He asked loudly.

"No, what news?" Clint asked from his seat on the couch.

Tony typed on the air for a moment (interacting with his menu probably, but Steve couldn't see it) and an image appeared in front of the man. It looked like a newspaper, called The War, and the front page article was titled 'Sergeant James Barnes, Rescued from Azzano'. Steve blinked a few times as everyone in the room got up and gathered around it.

Sam was the first to speak with an incredulous "Seriously? Who? How?"

"Doesn't say. I got it pretty much the moment I logged in so it was like a half hour ago at most. But he's been rescued and gotten safely back to the Home Base. But you can bet whoever did it is pretty proud because now the War will move forward." Tony said.

Sam was pouting, Natasha looked fascinated, and Clint was grumbling under his breath about "I didn't even get a chance to try the mission…"

Steve swallowed and said "Um, it this really that big a deal?"

Tony's head snapped to look at him and his mouth was hanging open. "Do you really not know about this, Steve?" He asked and Steve shook his head. "Okay, brief lore lesson time. The world is split into two major sections. The peaceful lower half, where most players spend their time, and the War Zone, where players work together to fight HYDRA and 'keep it from infiltrating the rest of the world'. It's the primary story of the game. When Redemption first began everyone was told that the first step in taking down HYDRA permanently was rescuing Sergeant James Barnes from the Azzano Base in the War Zone. People have been trying forever just to get into the base, but no one has even seen Barnes. And now that he's been rescued that quest is forever completed. No one will _ever_ be able to do it again. So whoever managed it is going to be a legend." Tony explained.

Steve couldn't help coughing a little as he looked away and he felt the weight of both Sam and Tony's looks. Finally he looked up to see every eye in the room on him. "That might have been me." He finally admitted. There was a beat of perfectly still silence before Steve couldn't stand it and started talking. "It was kind of an accident. I had just finished making my character and was supposed to go to the tutorial but I ended up in Azzano instead. Bucky ran into me and we got out and we went back to Home Base together." Steve said.

Sam's jaw could not hang open any further and Tony's mouth was opening and closing like a fish without making any noise. "Are you kidding me?" Clint finally declared loudly and Steve grinned sheepishly. "You're even on nickname basis with him?"

"Uh, yes. Actually, I didn't even know he was an NPC at first. I thought he was a player. He just seemed so real. The AI in this game is incredible." Steve said and Tony nodded.

"I would hope so, considering I had a hand in writing it. But that's besides the point. Did you really rescue Barnes before you'd even completed the tutorial?" Tony asked. Steve pulled up his menu and showed them the two completed missions. Clint immediately burst into laughter, Sam was still pouting, and Tony just looked amazed. "Well. Aside from the bug sending you to the wrong place I'd say you've had an exciting first day." Tony finally said and Steve laughed.

"Very. Thank you guys for convincing me to play." Steve said with a smile of his own. He was really looking forward to coming back and completing more missions with Bucky, and hopefully with everyone else too.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve started spending basically every evening in Redemption. He always woke up in the tent he shared with Bucky, to the brunet asleep like the dead on the other cot. Steve would gently shake him awake, they'd go see Colonel Phillips, and then they'd go out on a mission. Sometimes Steve brought the Avengers and sometimes they went with a guild he'd met and befriended called the Howling Commandos who pretty exclusively spent their time in the War Zone, and every once in a while it would be just him and Bucky. Those missions were his favorites, personally.

The more time he spent with the brunet the more he realized there was something different about him. Neither Colonel Phillips and Peggy Carter, both NPCs like Bucky, had the same level of intricacy as Bucky did. And it was mostly the little things, like rolling his eyes at Colonel Phillips or actually having to feel for another clip by hand when he couldn't take his eyes off the scope. But what really made the difference were the things he seemed to do subconsciously. Sure, Steve expected the NPC's to act human when he was looking at them, but multiple times Steve had caught Bucky out of the corner of his eye mid-action. Doing something like combing his fingers through his hair to fix it or even playing with his dog tags during briefs.

They were just little things that made him seem so unbelievably human. And then there was the one thing Steve hadn't mentioned to anyone because he couldn't justify it in any kind of AI programming. The way Bucky would jerk away sometimes, obviously fearful, when woken up. The way he would subtly flinch when someone startled him or slapped his shoulder. The kinds of things Steve would expect from a real person suffering from PTSD after spending time as a prisoner of war, not an AI in a video game. Even a VR one as advanced as this.

But Steve didn't dare report it to SHIELD because he didn't want Bucky to change. The more time he spent with the brunet the more Steve realized he was falling for him. And he knew he shouldn't, because ultimately Bucky was a computer program and there was just no feasible way they could be together, but he couldn't help it. Even time Bucky turned his brilliant smile Steve's way he fell a little more. The casual intimacy they shared was almost addicting and Steve had never had a friend like Bucky before in his life.

Steve spent every chance he could in Redemption and had made a name for himself. He was well known enough that even in the lower sections, away from the War Zone, he was often stopped by other players who wanted to talk to him. Get his autograph or take pictures with him. It was mind blowing but he also wasn't particularly fond of it. The NPCs didn't react the same way, but only Bucky was truly comfortable to be around.

So the majority of his time was spent in the War Zone, blasting their way through HYDRA base after HYDRA base. The other players had helped, eliminated less important bases and before Steve realized it months had gone by. But this time, when he entered the game (spawning into the usual tent with Bucky), something was different. As soon as he woke Bucky one of the NPC privates who delivered messages throughout the camp came to the tent.

"Captain? Colonel Phillips is requesting you and Sergeant Barnes come to his tent immediately." The man informed him.

"Be right there." Steve promised and the private saluted before he ran off. He and Bucky shared a look and Bucky grabbed his guns from nearby as Steve snatched up his shield. They left together and weren't interrupted on their walk. The atmosphere in the camp seemed subdued compared to usual and Steve wondered what was happening because obviously it was a big deal.

They entered Colonel Phillips tent as a pair and joined Peggy at the table. "Thanks for joining us, gentlemen. We have a mission of utmost importance to complete and limited time to do it." Colonel Phillips informed them.

"Alright. What are we doing?" Steve asked. He was excited. He'd gotten very good at fighting with his shield the more missions they went on and this mission didn't scare him either.

Colonel Phillips ran his finger along a trail on the map. "This is a train track and we've just found out that Arnim Zola will be on it. Tonight. It's a perfect chance for us to capture him."

"I'm in. Bucky?" Steve glanced at his friend (and there was no lesser word for their relationship) who nodded.

"Of course. What would you do without me?" Bucky replied with a cheeky smile and Steve smiled back.

"Alright. The Commandos should be here any time so let's prep and as soon as they arrive we'll head out." Steve said and Colonel Phillips nodded.

"Then let's plan in the meantime." They did exactly that, until about ten minutes later when the Commandos arrived and then they were off. Steve imagined the journey would have been miserable in real life with how cold it was, but Falsworth had warming magic that made it much more enjoyable. And it took less time than it probably would have in real life.

They had to scale a mountain and found a perch on the opposite side of a very deep ravine. The train track ran along the other cliff wall and overall they were relaxed, laughing and even teasing each other. In fact, only Bucky seemed nervous and Steve nudged him gently. "You okay, Buck?" He asked softly and the brunet nodded.

"Just…" All of the Commandos tuned in to listen, because despite appearances they were all acutely aware that Bucky was an NPC; an important NPC. And this was an important story mission. So whatever was bothering him could be important. "Not much of a fan of heights." was all he said.

The Commandos slumped, obviously wishing that he had said something more useful. But Steve was watching Bucky. He'd never seen the man like this. Bucky was rubbing his arms nervously and eyeing the drop. He even nudged some debris off with his toes and watched it tumble down with apprehension. Steve was about to say something when Falsworth spoke up.

"Train's coming. Better get into position." He warned. Steve, Bucky, and Gabe Jones lined up and Steve took just a moment to squeeze Bucky's arm reassuringly. The brunet offered him the flash of a smile in return and then it was time to go. The train swung around a corner into view and then they were zip lining across the ravine. None of them could fly and Steve kind of wished Sam or Tony or even Thor (a large outspoken individual who had joined the Avengers shortly after Steve) could have come along because they all could. But it was what it was.

They dropped onto the train and Steve led the way inside, with Bucky following while Gabe kept going to secure the engine room. The fighting was tricky, but not terrible and Steve trusted Bucky to watch his back. Even when they were separated by doors closing, Steve knew they'd figure a way out. They always had. He took out his enemy, a stronger opponent than he'd faced before (and he was so grateful for his shield because even this stronger enemy couldn't shoot through it). Once the enemy was down he got the doors open and in a maneuver they'd never practiced but executed perfectly Bucky and he took out the two HYDRA enemies in the compartment.

Steve didn't expect the stronger HYDRA agent to come back, because he was sure he'd taken the man down, and the first blast knocked him over when he didn't quite block in time and left a gaping hole in the wall. He didn't expect Bucky to pick up his shield (because players couldn't handle other players weapons) and then Bucky was blasted out the side of the train compartment.

Steve took out the HYDRA agent with a throw of the shield, and made sure he flickered away, before Steve rushed over to Bucky. The brunet was hanging from the metal and looked utterly terrified. Steve quickly found a solid handhold and reached out the other towards Bucky. "Come on, grab my hand!" He yelled over the wind. Bucky reached out for him, only to withdraw his hand to cling to the wall when his fragile handhold creaked. "Bucky!" Steve ordered and the brunet reached for him again.

The strangest thing happened then, as Steve's eyes were locked on Bucky's. Steve could see how utterly terrified the brunet was, and honestly he was terrified too. But the silver ring in Bucky's eyes seemed to flicker, for just a second, before the metal gave way with a loud snap. And Bucky fell away with a scream.

Steve felt like he'd been punched in the gut and it took him longer than it should have to pull himself back to safety. But then he couldn't move any further. He stayed there, sitting on the cold metal floor, until the train came to a stop and they met up with Colonel Phillips and a bunch of others, who took Zola into custody. Steve felt listless, empty almost, and couldn't believe how much it had hurt to lose Bucky. Of all the arcs he'd expected the brunet to have, this wasn't how any of them ended. He was on autopilot for the return to camp and as soon as he got back to their… his tent he logged out. He couldn't bear to look at Bucky's empty cot.


	5. Chapter 5

Of course Tony and Sam noticed when Steve suddenly stopped logging into Redemption. He wasn't surprised. All his free time had been spent in the game for the last several months and all of a sudden he couldn't even touch his helmet. He'd told them the truth of why when they asked, partially because he wanted reassurance he wasn't crazy for feeling very much like he'd lost his mother all over again, except it was Bucky. An NPC. An AI in a video game.

It was a long two months of sadness, during which he was informed by Clint that the War had been won.

Steve had had this nightmare before. Multiple times, even, where he experienced Bucky's death all over again in brutal detail. But this time it included a detail he'd forgotten. Bucky's terrified blue eyes looking at him, pleading for help. The silver ring disappearing moments before he fell.

Steve woke up panting and tried to dismiss it, but the thought lingered. And the more he thought about it the more he was sure that it wasn't something his dreaming mind had drawn up. It was 4:30 am when he couldn't stand waiting any longer and called Tony. He paced anxiously, gnawing on his nails as he waited for Tony to answer.

A mumbled and somewhat slurred "Hello?" was the greeting.

"Tony, I need to ask you an important question." Steve said and he heard a groan he was pretty sure Tony meant to muffle.

"And it couldn't wait until a more reasonable hour? I only feel asleep like thirty minutes ago." Tony grumbled.

"Sorry, Tony, but please." Steve begged and he heard Tony sigh.

"Alright, alright. Since I'm already up. What is it?" Tony asked.

"You helped SHIELD write the AI for the NPCs in Redemption, right?" Steve questioned and Tony made a noise that Steve assumed was a confirmation. "Is there any reason the silver in an NPC's eyes would disappear?"

"No, Steve. That defeats the entire purpose of having it there." Tony said tiredly and Steve nodded as he bit his lip. Tony sighed again. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Steve asked and Tony groaned.

"Steve, I can hear you thinking from here. Something happened and I assume it had something to do with Bucky. So what was it?" Tony asked.

"It's just… I had a dream. About when he fell? It's not the first time, but this time, right before he fell, the silver ring disappeared. And I thought it must just be my brain playing tricks on me, but the more I thought about it the more I think that's actually what happened and I'd just forgotten." He explained, with perhaps a touch too much energy.

Tony was silent for a little while, long enough Steve got nervous, before he spoke. "I don't know, Steve. I wasn't involved with the Barnes AI at all, although I do know it's a completely unique script to the rest of the game. Some outside company was called in to do it. I never even got to see the scripting for him and I didn't know any more than the average player about what his story was supposed to be. Honestly, I think you probably just imagined it because I can't think of any reason why that would happen. Sorry."

Steve sighed heavily. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have woken you up over this. I just… I can't get Bucky out of my head. And I know it's dumb but…" He trailed off and heard Tony sigh, but this time it was more fond than aspirated.

"Steve, come on. The AI for Redemption is unprecedented. And you spent so much time with Bucky it's only fair you'd consider one another friends. And in that sense, you lost someone close to you. It's okay to grieve." Tony assured. Steve nodded, though Tony wasn't there, as he refused to let the tears fall. "Hey, you know what might help? Come back into Redemption with me tomorrow. We won't go to the War Zone, but you should see the other sectors. Things have changed since The War ended and it might do you some good."

Steve hesitated then nodded again. "Okay." He agreed softly, because it wouldn't hurt. And if he were honest he missed the game. He missed the Avengers and the Howling Commandos. He was pretty sure he'd always miss Bucky, but that didn't mean he had to miss his other friends because of his self-imposed isolation. "Okay. Tomorrow afternoon, let's play." He said.

"Deal. Now I'm going to bed." Tony hung up immediately and Steve couldn't help chuckling at his friend's response. He set aside his phone and curled back up in bed. He had classes in a few hours, but he could afford a little more sleep. He'd need it if he was going to be playing Redemption again tonight.

* * *

Tony had been right. The entire atmosphere of the game had shifted from the last time he'd been here. There were entirely new sections with modern and even futuristic architecture and everyone seemed happy. And sure, the lower sections had always had a lighter atmosphere than the War Zone, but this just felt different. Like a dark presence had been lifted from the whole game.

He was recognized of course as he, Tony, and Sam wandered the cities. The other Avengers popped in at various times and even a couple of the Howling Commandos swung by to say hello and tell him they were still running missions in the War Zone (taking out the 'remaining' aka occasionally spawning HYDRA bases) if he ever wanted to join them. But it was the other players, the ones he didn't know, who were so utterly excited to see him. He felt like a genuine hero and so many of them gave him credit for ending the war when he actually hadn't been there. But he stayed polite and it was actually nice to experience the popularity (because he had never had that in real life).

What surprised him most was that Tony had been right. Being back didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. In fact it even helped settle the ache in his heart, because he and Bucky had done this. And even though Bucky was gone, the result of that loss, of all the missions they'd been able to accomplish first, was right here in the faces of all the happy players. In the lighter atmosphere that had become pervasive throughout the entirely of the game.

And so he kept coming back. He didn't return to the War Zone, and even changed his primary spawn point to the Avengers Tower (Tony had changed the name because he thought Clubhouse was dumb and Tower was more accurate since it was now its own towering building in the city). He didn't visit as often as before, but he was just as excited as everyone else about the Anniversary Celebration. It was a huge deal and there were rumors that Nicholas Fury, the actual CEO of SHIELD, was going to make an appearance.

So of course he went. Sam and Tony were with him. The game wasn't even laging, despite the nearly 1 million players online for the celebration. There were only about 3,000 players at the courtyard designated for Fury's speech, but there were all kinds. Some hovered in the air or had claimed seats high on the walls (the ones who could fly, anyway). Most were standing around in the courtyard chatting. Steve was a bit impressed that so many people had shown up for a speech, but he was sure that many like him were hoping for a hint into what was coming next since HYDRA had been beaten (and less than a year after the game came out; Steve couldn't help feeling impressed with himself for having a large role in accomplishing that).

A white light announced Fury's arrival to the stage and the players cheered. He wasn't quite what Steve was expecting, especially with the eyepatch, but then again this was just Fury's avatar. And if you owned the game why not make your avatar exactly the way you want it? So, stoic and imposing in all black with an eyepatch it was. Fury waved politely and waited for the crowds cheering to die down before he spoke.

"Hello. I am Nicolas Fury, the CEO of SHIELD. I'm so glad to see you have all been enjoying Redemption and want to thank you for making it one of the most successful games of all time. I especially want to congratulate you on your quick work ending The War up north. Some of our writers were quite startled by the quick timeline." That got a laugh, if for nothing else but Fury looked absolutely serious about it, and Steve couldn't help smiling too. "That being said, we are working on Phase 2 for Redemption and don't worry. You should start seeing things soon. But until then, please enjoy the game and…"

The gunshot ran loud and clear through the courtyard and Fury collapsed with a grunt. Everyone had different reactions and Steve's was to look for the shooter. The moment he saw the man (in so far as he saw a shadow and a rifle aimed in Fury's direction) he started running. He outpaced Sam and Tony easily and followed the shadow out of the courtyard's walls.

The sky had darkened ominously, but Steve could still (barley) see the black clad figure leaping across the rooftops. Steve had no idea where the shooter was going but once he got close enough he threw his shield. To his complete and utter shock, the man caught it one handed almost without looking. The metal left arm that had caught it glistened not unlike the metal on his shield before the shooter threw the shield back hard enough Steve's breath was knocked away when he caught it as he slid backwards a few feet. By the time he looked up the man was gone, but there was a new mission prompt in his vision.

All it said was _'You've begun a new quest storyline; __**The Winter Soldier**__.'_ It chilled Steve to the bone, because missions and quests never had such simple descriptions. It chilled him almost as much as the fact that his chest was still a little sore from the shield hitting him and that had never happened before either.


	6. Chapter 6

Steve had just enough time to get back to the Avengers Tower and confirmed with everyone that he hadn't been the only one to receive the quest prompt before someone else appeared. Or, more accurately, two individuals appeared. One was Fury and the other was the woman who had stood near him on the stage during the speech.

"Hey, Fury. What's going on?" Tony spoke up first, which didn't really surprise Steve because Tony had actually met the man in real life while helping program Redemption.

Fury glanced at his female companion before he spoke. "That's what I need to talk to you about." He looked at everyone else in the room suspiciously. "Can you trust them?" Fury asked and Tony nodded.

"Absolutely." He promised and Fury nodded. He did something on his menu that they couldn't see then met each person's eyes with a terrifying expression on his face.

"What I am about to tell you does not leave this room and will not be told to anyone else." He began. The Avengers looked at each other before they nodded. Fury took a breath. "What happened today was not scheduled or planned."

The gasps from around the room were audible and Steve frowned. "Excuse me, but I got a quest notification. How was this not planned?" He asked, feeling only slightly bad for interrupting. At least Fury didn't seem upset.

"Maybe that isn't the right way to explain. It wasn't planned by us." He gestured to himself and the woman. "It wasn't planned by SHIELD."

"Then who…?" Steve started.

Tony answered even before Steve could finish. "Red Skull. It had to be. No one else has the access necessary to do this."

"Not even you?" Fury asked and Tony gave him a look that said 'I don't like what you're implying'.

"I mean, yes, but you really think I would? There's zero reason for me to it." Tony sounded disgusted, but Fury shook his head.

"I believe you, but I had to be sure. But the question now is what do we do. Obviously they have something planned for the game and while that alone wouldn't bother me so much, what terrifies me is that they've changed the settings. Normally getting shot like I did would decrease a player's health and there might be a little bit of discomfort, but we've massively limited it to avoid any damage to a player's real body or mind and they certainly shouldn't be feeling real pain. But today, it felt like I'd actually been shot." Fury explained and Tony's expression shifted to one of horror.

"You don't think Red Skull was actually trying to kill you, do you? I mean, Pierce is terrible but even he's not that evil." Tony didn't sound so sure though, and based on Fury's expression Fury wasn't confident in that either.

"They have plenty of motivation to and it only makes sense. If I die Red Skull would hold power over Redemption and would be able to make a significant amount of money off of the game. But let's move on to the shooter for a second. Captain, I believe you saw him?" Fury asked and Steve nodded.

"I did. Not well, but I did." He confirmed.

"What was he like?" Fury asked. "Could you tell if he was an NPC or not?"

Steve shook his head. "I don't know if he was an NPC, but he was skilled. I saw where he was and that shot would be tricky to make even with stat boosts or other bonuses. He was dressed in all black, had shoulder length brown hair, and a metal left arm that even caught my shield when I'd thrown it at full strength. In the brief glimpse I got of his face I saw he was wearing a mask, but then he threw the shield back hard enough I slid backwards. It even took my breath away. And I could barely keep up when I was chasing him. There's only one NPC and maybe a handful of players I've ever met who could do that." Steve informed them.

"Bucky?" Sam guessed gently and Steve nodded.

Tony was pacing and spoke up without stopping. "I mean, that makes sense. If Red Skull is responsible it only makes sense they'd use the same coding for the Winter Soldier that they did for Bucky rather than write a whole new one. God, Bucky might have just been the test to see what they could even program an AI to do. If they could use one for this or if they'd have to find someone willing and probably pay them to shoot Fury in-game."

"Bucky?" Fury questioned.

"Oh, sorry, sir. James Buchanan Barnes? He was an important NPC during the War. Rescuing him was the first step in taking down HYDRA and then he helped take down the rest of the bases until he died during one of the last missions." Steve offered. It hurt less to talk about than he expected but it still made his chest ache.

"Ah, yes. Red Skull designed that whole story, if I remember correctly." Fury was quiet for a moment before he looked at Tony. "Stark, could you rework the code and fix this?"

Tony nodded. "Probably. But Red Skull wouldn't let me anywhere near their network hub and I'll need direct access." Tony explained.

"That might be a problem." The woman who had arrived with Fury finally spoke up as she closed down her menu. "I can't log out." She announced.

The silence in the room was terrifying and no one moved for a long time. Tony broke the stillness first, to pull up his own menu. He spent several minutes working with it while everyone watched only for him to shake his head. "No luck. This was changed on a code level and none of the admin permissions I've got will fix it from here. I need direct access to the code."

Fury and the woman shared a look. "We might be able to get you that." He said.

"Oooh! Do I get to finally see inside the Triskelion?" Tony looked very excited.

"What's the Triskelion?" Bruce asked tentatively when no one else did.

"It's an internal access hub we created so admins and programmers could adjust Redemption's settings without leaving VR. But the Red Skull will know that's our only access point from here so it's bound to be well guarded." The woman explained.

"I'm sure we can get in. I'll help fight." Steve promised.

"I can't ask any of you to do that. With the settings altered I don't know what would happen to your physical body if you were to die right now." Fury stated but Steve just stood and picked up his shield.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. If we don't fix this nearly a million players will be trapped in the game. We can't _not_ try. And besides, objectively I'm one of the best fighters in the game and I don't know if anyone else would be able to hold up to the Winter Soldier. Maybe Thor, but he's not here. So I'm fighting." Steve insisted.

Fury studied him for a moment before he nodded. "Alright. Stark, without you this plan doesn't happen, but…"

"But nothing. I'm in." Tony agreed, more serious that Steve had maybe ever heard him, and Fury nodded once.

"Thank you. The rest of you can join or not, I leave that to your discretion. I won't make anyone take the risk." Fury said. Slowly he looked around the room at each individual and one by one they nodded. Steve had the sudden realization that he could lose these people for real; Tony, Sam, Bruce, Natasha, Clint. Practically all of his close friends. All he could think was 'I'm glad Thor and the Howlies aren't here', even if in his heart he desperately wished Bucky was by his side because if they fought together there was no way they would lose.


	7. Chapter 7

The Triskelion was a building in the middle of Corewyn, surrounded by a moat of water and only accessible by one of several bridges or the air. In general it seemed nondescript; made up of several white buildings close together that from the air formed a sort of circle around a central tower (Fury had shown them all the blueprints). It was already tricky to get inside and they had no way of knowing what adjustments Red Skull had made to further protect it.

Steve and Sam were perched on a building nearby, watching. Looking for any chinks in the armor or weakness they might be able to use. There weren't even any guards patrolling, but then again the building didn't need them. There could be any of a dozen spells or in game items constantly monitoring, not to mention any security coded directly into the game itself. They were just going to have to go in headfirst with guns blazing at this rate.

"Come on. We could sit here for a year and never learn anything. No point in wasting time." Steve encouraged and Sam followed him down the fire escape. Natasha was waiting for them on the street level, but they didn't speak as they join her. The risk was too high that Red Skull was keeping an eye on them and everything they said outside of a secure area. The trio just started walking together towards their meeting place with Fury.

The atmosphere hadn't changed since the Winter Soldier's appearance. The sky remained stormy and dark. The players were subdued, because at Steve's insistence a universal message had been sent stating that something had gone wrong, settings had been changed, and that dying in the game could cause damage to the players real body so fighting, quests, etc were all heavily discouraged until further notice.

Steve felt a little guilty, like it was somehow his fault that the lighthearted atmosphere that had been so pervasive for the last several months had ended. Sam seemed to notice his melancholy and set a hand on his shoulder before giving it a squeeze. Steve offered him a small smile back. "It'll be okay, man." Sam promised and he nodded.

"I hope so." He replied. Thankfully Sam seemed to get he wasn't in the mood to be encouraged right now and said nothing more. Steve promised himself he would get it together before they started the real fight. Fury was waiting for them just outside the Avengers' Tower entrance and Steve subtly shook his head when their eyes met, or rather when Fury's eye met his eyes. Even from here he could see the man's expression frown.

For a brief moment Steve saw something in the air heading towards Fury and then the ground next to the man exploded. Everyone nearby shrieked and ducked for cover or ran. A few were hurt, struggling to get up because of the changed settings. But Steve couldn't see Fury through the dirt in the air. He ran forward, moving his shield to his arm, with Sam and Natasha close on his heels. Steve helped the nearby injured players as he searched for Fury.

It was the glint of silver out of the corner of his eye that alerted him that there was someone with them. He had just barely started towards the Winter Soldier when the assassin started firing. Steve had to duck for cover behind his shield as the spray bullets created a swatch of destruction around him. The Winter Soldier hadn't stopped walking towards Fury, who was struggling to get to his feet.

As soon as the bullets stopped Steve did the first thing he could think of and charged. He slammed into the Winter Soldier shield first and the both of them went down. The Winter Soldier easily rolled up to a crouch, his gun now out of reach, while Steve did the same with his shield held up defensively. They paused just like that, staring each other down, and Steve immediately noticed the goggles on the Winter Soldier's face that hadn't been there before.

Several gunshots rang out and Steve dodged to the side, but the bullets were aimed at the Winter Soldier. He dodged most of them and blocked the rest with his arm, but one ricocheted and hit his goggles. He didn't even really recoil, and definitely didn't flinch. While he pulled them off Steve ran at him again.

This time the Winter Soldier noticed him before Steve could hit him and threw a punch with his metal arm. Steve got his shield up in time to block it but the collision rang out like cymbals had been clanged hard right next to his head and Steve actually had to use most of his strength to keep his shield in place. Then the Winter Soldier grabbed the edge of it, kicked him backward, and with a twist had pulled the shield away almost in one movement.

Steve had just barely found his balance before the shield was thrown at him. He didn't risk trying to catch it, just dodged and started throwing punches. The Winter Soldier matched him blow for blow, and had some additional melee weapons that he used with an alarming amount of skill. Steve swore he had a respawning knife or something because it seemed like every time he got one out of the assassin's hands there was another to replace it. It was unlike any kind of fight Steve had ever been in. The Winter Soldier was just as fast and just as strong as he was, and he felt every blow like it was real. He barely had any chance to go on the offensive; it was all he could do just to keep up.

The Winter Soldier was moments from hitting Steve in the face with his metal hand, and Steve knew he wouldn't be able to block it in time. Tony's laser blast came out of nowhere and it sent the Winter Soldier flying back several feet. Steve took a moment to catch his breath as Tony landed next to him in his full metal suit (he was the only one in the game to have anything like it because he'd programmed it himself), maintaining the laser aimed at the Winter Soldier, who was blocking it with his metal arm.

"How you doing, Cap?" Tony asked.

"He's tough." Steve answered. His health was orange, edging towards red, but he knew they weren't done yet.

"Here." Sam landed on his other side and gave Steve his shield, which Steve accepted gratefully.

They didn't get to converse further. The Winter Soldier had rushed them, still using his metal hand to block the laser despite the metal of his palm beginning to turn red hot. Tony launched himself upwards because the Winter Soldier was obviously gunning for him, and the moment Tony was out of the way the Winter Soldier twisted and threw a punch at Steve instead. With his red hot metal hand.

Steve did not want to find out what it felt like to be touched or grabbed or punched by that and leapt out of the way. Sam took to the air and they, along with Natasha, worked together to fight him. They were winning, barely, but the Winter Soldier was still holding his own to a terrifying degree against the four of them. It wasn't until Natasha managed to get a shot to land in the Winter Soldier's knee that Steve was able to get him to the ground.

They wrestled, but finally Steve got him pinned in a headlock. The Winter Soldier struggled in his grip and it was taking every ounce of his strength to keep the assassin held down. The Winter Soldier only stilled when Natasha put a gun to his head from one side while Tony kept one of his blasters aimed at his head from the other. But he was still tense and Steve still didn't dare let the Winter Soldier go.

"Okay, now what?" Tony asked.

"I don't know. There's no quest notifications, not that I expected any." Steve ground out.

"Hey, you, Winter Soldier." Natasha basically demnanded. The man growled at her, a sound muffled by the mask but still audible. Natasha didn't say anything for a moment before she nodded. "He's an AI. I can see the silver." She confirmed.

"I don't know if that's comforting or worrying. In that case, I guess we can just kill him. We won't be hurting anyone." Tony suggested. The Winter Soldier thrashed when Tony said that and Steve had to adjust his grip to keep the man from getting free.

"He might still be useful." Natasha countered before Tony could do anything, though her grip had tightened back up on the gun in her hands. She looked around, at the crowd Steve could see gathering. "We need to get him somewhere secure."

"And how do you suggest we do that? I'm barely holding him." Steve ground out.

Natasha paused but after a moment Tony opened his mask and crouched near them. "повинуйся мне. вольно." He said and like magic the Winter Soldier went limp. Steve cautiously released him, but the man didn't so much as twitch.

"What was that?" Steve asked.

"Trigger words. A precaution Red Skull and I agreed on that all the AI would have. They're self learning and we wanted to be sure if one went rogue we'd have a surefire way to shut them down so nobody could get hurt. Wasn't sure it would work, but…" He waved at the Winter Soldier's limp body as if to say 'well, see, it works'.

"And you couldn't have done that before?" Sam demanded and Tony smiled like he was embarrassed and even went so far as to rub the back of his neck.

"I forgot about it." He admitted.

Natasha rolled her eyes and put away her gun. "Okay, now what?" She asked.

"Now…" Tony took a breath before he spoke. "Стоять. Следовать." Whatever Tony had said made the Winter Soldier move. Like a puppet, he got to his feet and mindlessly he followed Tony into the Avengers Tower. Steve paused only long enough to pick up his shield before he hurried after them. He didn't trust the Winter Soldier would remain under Tony's control for long.

They teleported up to the Avengers' main lounge area, startling the others that had remained behind for Steve and Sam's reconnaissance mission. The Winter Soldier followed Tony for a few steps until Tony frowned and said "стоп. не двигайся."

"I didn't know you knew Russian." Bruce commented as he eyed the Winter Soldier, who had frozen in place like a statue the moment Tony had spoken.

Tony shrugged as he claimed a seat nearby. "It was Red Skull's idea. To put the trigger words and commands in another language so they weren't as obvious and so there was less chance of players discovering them. I mean, you still need admin permissions to use them, but better safe than sorry." He dismissed.

Natasha, Fury, and Sam all appeared together. Fury looked worse for wear, but Steve could see a steel-like determination in his eyes. Hill, Fury's female companion, rushed to his side and they conversed softly while Steve took the time to look over the Winter Soldier in more detail. His brown hair hung loose, just brushing his shoulders as it bracketed his face. His blue eyes looked dull, almost glazed, but still held that reflective silver ring all the NPC's had. He wore the same black outfit as before, with the addition of a mask.

It covered the lower part of his face, from his cheekbones and nose down. It was hard plastic, with only tiny slits near the nose to breathe through, and as Steve looked he realized the mask dug into the Winter Soldier's skin in a way that couldn't be comfortable. He couldn't say why, but some instinct told him to take the mask off. The Winter Soldier didn't flinch, didn't move, didn't even look at him as he reached forward and undid the mask's hook.

He noticed that the room had gone utterly silent around him as he pulled the mask away slowly, but he didn't take his eyes off of the Winter Soldier's face. When the mask was free it tumbled from his fingers and he couldn't stop it. Because he knew the face under the mask. Had spent months with the person to whom the face belonged. He had known that they probably shared the same AI coding, but he did not expect them to share a face.

"Bucky?" He whispered and for the first time since Tony's command the Winter Soldier moved on his own. His eyes came upward to meet Steve's. His expression furrowed when they met, like he was slightly confused.

"Who the hell is Bucky?"

**Translations (according to Google, feel free to correct me if they're wrong):**

**повинуйся мне. вольно. - Obey me. At ease.**

**Стоять. Следовать - Stand. Follow.**

**стоп. не двигайся. - Stop. Don't move.**


	8. Chapter 8

Steve had been so, so wrong. He had thought that his heart couldn't hurt any more than it had right after Bucky had fallen, but this hurt worse. So much worse. He stumbled backwards, unable to hear anything the others were saying over his own heartbeat, and nearly fell as he sank into the first seat he bumped into. Still he couldn't take his eyes off the Winter Soldier, whose eyes were tracking his movements in return but he otherwise remained still.

"Steve!" Steve jumped at Sam's sharp call and then he realized that Sam was crouched in front of him, obviously concerned. "You okay, man?"

"He's Bucky." Steve whispered and Sam gave him a sympathetic look.

"He's not. He just looks like him." Sam reminded gently and he nodded.

"Still hurts." He said quietly and Sam nodded as he gave his leg a squeeze. Steve swallowed and took a breath. "I'm okay." He promised, at a proper volume. Sam didn't seem convinced but stood up and moved to stand next to him, one hand coming to rest on Steve's shoulder comfortingly. All the Avengers, Fury, and Hill were all watching him closely, mostly with concern in their eyes.

The Winter Soldier was watching him too, still with that furrowed half confused-half wary expression on his face. His eyes were identical to Bucky's in a way that was comforting and disturbing in equal measure. They held none of the emotion or familiarity. But the longer they stared at each other, the more he thought maybe there was a little familiarity in those eyes. Steve didn't pay any attention to the others as they spoke. Sam was talking with them too, but Steve could feel the way his friend occasionally eyed him.

He heard voices rising and then finally Sam moved away from him. Steve knew he should put a stop to their argument, but he just didn't want to get up yet. He just wanted to stay in his seat watching the Winter Soldier. And the Winter Soldier was watching him back. So they stayed as they were and stared at each other. Slowly the assassin started moving towards him. Not in a threatening way, more like he couldn't help himself.

He was still out of Steve's reach when he stopped. He looked less frightening now. He wasn't tense or prepared for a fight. His shoulders were curled in almost protectively, his head was slightly bowed, and the Winter Soldier's eyes kept flicking away from Steve's only to come back moments later. Steve would even go so far as to say he look frightened. Finally he spoke and it was maybe the last thing Steve expected him to say. "I know you."

Steve was sure he wasn't the only one in the room that was shocked by the statement as the other voices in the room trailed off (which may have just been his suddenly very selective hearing). Slowly, not wanting to frighten the man, he stood up from the seat. "You do?" Steve asked and the Winter Soldier gave the tiniest nod.

"I don't… remember. But I know you." He repeated. And Steve was sure now that they had the attention of everyone in the room. The Winter Soldier looked almost anxious as Steve moved to stand in front of him and Steve had a sudden flashback to an anxious Bucky, looking down into a deep snowy ravine. And with an almost audible click in his brain Steve made the connection to his 'Not a fan of heights comment': Bucky had been warning them, in a way, about what was going to happen to him. They just hadn't realized it.

But that could wait until later. Much later. "Yeah?" Steve whispered and the Winter Soldier nodded stiffly. He was definitely cowering now, barely able to meet Steve eyes. "We were friends. Are friends." Steve offered and the Winter Soldier frowned. "My name is Steve."

"Steve." He repeated softly and Steve nods.

"Yeah. And your name is James Buchannan Barnes. Bucky." Steve added and for a brief moment the Winter Soldier's expression looked pained.

"I know that name." He whispered and Steve gently reached out to touch his cheeks. The Winter Soldier dramatically flinched at the touch but didn't actually pull out of Steve's hands.

"Yeah?" Steve asked, barely above a whisper himself. He kept his touch gentle as he cradled the brunet's jaw.

The Winter Soldier nodded and finally met Steve's eyes. "I… fell." He whispered and while a knot formed in Steve's throat he nodded. "You tried to catch me." He continued and again Steve nodded. "We fought together…"

"Yes, we did." Steve confirmed. The Winter Soldier pressed his human hand to his head as his expression became pained.

"Head hurts." He muttered and Steve faltered. He didn't know what to do to help besides pull the brunet into a hug. So he did. The Winter Soldier tensed up at first, then slowly he relaxed into Steve's hold. After a few seconds he heard a gasping sound that bordered on a sob. Steve held him a little closer when the man in his arms started trembling.

Steve could feel eyes on them, but he ignored them all. "I've got you, Bucky." Steve whispered and he felt the brunet's hand tighten into his shirt. Steve rubbed his back. "I've got you." He repeated gently.

After a few moments the brunet pulled back to meet Steve's eyes. He was obviously terrified but even more startling the silver ring in his eyes was flickering. "Bucky?" Steve asked softly.

The brunet groaned as he shook his head. "That's not my name… But I don't remember. Is it? My head hurts." He whimpered.

Steve quickly held him close. "Shh, easy. It's okay. I've got you." He promised again and Bucky groaned as he buried his head against Steve's shoulder. Steve rubbed his back gently as he finally looked around the room. Everyone was watching him. Tony and Sam looked concerned, though for possibly different reasons, and everyone else looked more wary. Still, they all waited until Bucky had stopped quivering (Steve was the only one who knew about that though) and pulled back.

His expression still looked pained and the silver rings were flickering, now incongruently from one another. Tony had slowly approached, only to inhale sharply when he saw the flickering. "That's not possible." He muttered. "Shouldn't be… unless…" He studied Bucky for a few seconds.

"Unless what, Tony?" Bruce asked after a pause, during which Bucky curled back into Steve's chest. Steve was happy to hold him close.

Tony took a breath as he looked between Bucky and the others in the room. "Unless he's not actually an AI."

"Tony, what are you talking about?" Steve demanded sharply.

Tony sighed. "It's the only reason I can think of that Bucky wouldn't always have a silver ring in his eyes. Basically, he's an NPC but not he's not an AI. He's a player like us and someone programmed the silver ring into his model, but it doesn't stick because he's not an AI. Someone who's kept him connected and logged in for months, maybe even years. It makes sense. Steve, you told me about some of the weird things you saw him doing? It all adds up if he's a player who's been made to believe he's a character."

"That's just a bit far fetched, don't you think?" Natasha commented.

"How else do you explain how he remembers Steve? There is zero reason Red Skull would program in those memories. The Winter Soldier isn't even supposed to be part of a full fledged storyline. As far as we're aware he's only supposed to kill Fury. The only answer is that he's a player who remembers what happened to him as Bucky, even though they tried to make him forget." Tony said.

Steve didn't know why it took him so long to realize what Tony was saying, but it struck him at that moment what it meant. Bucky was a _real person_. He had a _real name_ and a _real body_ and was almost certainly being abused by Red Skull. And had been for at least a _year_. "Oh god." He muttered. He pulled Bucky back to look at him again and he couldn't help wondering what Bucky looked like in real life. Did he look anything like this? Maybe he was totally different.

"What is it?" His thoughts were interrupted by Sam's question and he actually jumped.

"I just… It just hit me that Bucky has a real body that's been in Red Skull's hands for a year, or longer. A real name and a real family outside of here." Steve muttered. Bucky still looked terrified and Steve couldn't help reaching out to touch his cheek. He hated seeing Bucky so afraid. "Tony, is there any way you could free him when you alter the code?" He asked suddenly.

"I could, but honestly, Steve, I don't think that would help much. Even if we get him out of the game he wouldn't be able to get free from Red Skull without help, because he's certainly at one of the facilities. I can only imagine what state his body is in; he's practically been in a coma for at least a year. He wouldn't be able to walk out under the best of circumstances. We'll have to put him somewhere safe in game, where Red Skull can't get to him, then get ourselves free, and find him in real life before we can free him from here." Tony said.

Steve swallowed but nodded. "You're right." He agreed. "Buck, are you okay with that?" He asked the brunet.

"I can help." He whispered and Steve nodded.

"I know. You're a great fighter, but…" Steve started only to stop when Bucky shook his head.

"I know where the coding rooms are inside the Triskelion and can open the doors without setting off alarms. I can get you in." He explained. The fearful expression was gone now, replaced by a determination Steve had seen before on Bucky's face, though never this powerfully.

Steve smiled and Bucky gave him a slight smile back, but before Steve could speak Tony interrupted. "Forgive me, but we need a reason to trust you. Because less than ten minutes ago we were fighting you and you wanted to kill." Tony said firmly.

Steve was ready to tell him off, but Bucky once again spoke up first. "I don't remember much, but I remember one thing pretty clearly. I remember waking up somewhere strange, feeling weak, too weak to move. I was cold and there were men I didn't know poking and prodding me. They hurt me and put me back in here where they hurt me more. And… no one ever touched me as gently as Steve does. I'm not an idiot. I know what it means to be a prisoner and if I can help you stop them then I will." He said firmly.

"Okay. Okay." Tony agreed and backed off with his hands up. "God, you've got a terrifying glare." He added in an undertone. Bucky just rolled his shoulders and straightened up, just a touch of smugness in his expression at the comment.

"Well, since you've got the knowledge, what's the plan?" Clint asked and Bucky looked them over before he started speaking.


	9. Chapter 9

Steve was impressed. He'd known that Bucky was a good fighter and tactician, but he hadn't realized just how skilled he was. The more they planned the more Bucky seemed to relax into the role, acting less like the Winter Soldier and more like Bucky. It was less than an hour later they found themselves outside the Triskelion. Their plan was fairly simple. He and Tony would be led by Bucky to the coding rooms while the others, split into two teams, created a series of distractions and tried to keep the HYDRA agents occupied elsewhere. Simple, and hopefully effective.

"Ready, Buck?" Steve asked and Bucky nodded once. His expression shifted back into a very similar neutrality to the one the Winter Soldier had. Steve was concerned for a moment but then an explosion went off near them, followed by several more in rapid succession leading away. Bucky bolted forward immediately and covered the ground of the small footbridge quickly, while Tony and Steve lagged a little behind.

It didn't matter in the end because Bucky took down every enemy on the bridge long before they got close. Red Skull must have changed Bucky's stats because he had not been nearly this strong before. They caught up to him just as he pressed his metal hand to the door. There was a flash, a reaction to a spell that had been placed and it opened when he pushed it. "Come on." Bucky insisted as he held the door open with his metal hand.

Steve ducked inside first and scanned for enemies; there was only one whom Steve took out easily enough with a strike from his shield. Tony joined him and then the door shut behind the three of them. "You doing okay, Buck? How's your health?" Steve asked as the enemy he'd defeated disappeared.

"I'm fine." Bucky answered flatly before he started walking, moving to another door. "Follow me, and don't touch anything if you can avoid it. Especially the doors." He warned before he pushed the next metal door open with his left hand. He let Steve and Tony into the stairwell but wove past them to lead the way down. Tony minimized most of his suit (he left his chest, forearms, and hands covered by the armor) and Steve guarded their backs.

The stairwell was oddly empty and quiet as they traveled down. There were a couple of traps, easily avoided at Bucky's direction or disable by him. But no enemies. Either this stairwell was just routinely empty, which made a certain sort of sense because why would there be NPC's here? Or their distraction was working better than planned, which was just fine in Steve's book. They had hurried down maybe twenty flights of stairs before reaching the bottom floor.

Bucky stepped forward to open the door but paused. "There are enemies here so be prepared. And you should know: there are more trigger words that can turn me back into the Winter Soldier. I don't know if they'll have the time to say them all or if there will even be a handler who can, but if it happens don't hold back against me. Swear you won't, because chances are I won't be holding back either." Bucky insured.

"I won't." Tony agreed right away but even when Bucky's eyes fell on him, Steve faltered. He wasn't sure that was a promise he could keep. But Bucky didn't let up, staring him down until he finally nodded.

"Thank you. Ready?" He asked and Tony quickly summoned the rest of his suit while Steve adjusted his grip on his shield, then they nodded. Steve moved to take point, putting Tony behind him. Bucky nodded back once then pushed the door open.

Steve charged forward and knocked down two enemies before the bullets started flying. They were in a circular room with a smaller circular building in the middle. There were quite a few enemies and Steve felt bad for taking them out, but since they all shattered like NPC enemies Steve just hoped they weren't players in disguise. Tony, as the flying one among them, focused on the upper level catwalk while Steve and Bucky took out the enemies on the ground, looping around the central structure in opposite directions.

Steve heard a few of the enemies try to talk to Bucky, some in English and some in another language, but it was obvious by the anger on his face that none of it had been the trigger words. Or if it had been they didn't work. It took them less than three minutes to take down everyone in the room and meet up on the other side of the central building. There was another metal door there, this time heavier than before.

"Alright, Buck, what's next?" Steve asked.

"In there." Bucky grabbed the door, but rather than opening on it's own Bucky started pulling on it. The metal cradled loudly as the deadbolts were slowly forced through the surrounding concrete and finally came free, sending Bucky stumbling a little by the force, but he didn't fall. Just pulled the door open the rest of the way. "Go." He ordered and Tony hurried inside. He stepped out of his suit once he was sure there were no enemies there and set it to sentry mode.

Steve paused in the doorway when he realized Bucky hadn't moved from where he was catching his breath after ripping the door free. "Buck, come on." Steve said but Bucky shook his head.

"Can't. Programming won't let me enter. I'll stand guard." He promised, and he looked sincere.

Steve frowned as he hated the idea of leaving Bucky alone and was about to say something when Tony interrupted. "Steve, I need you." He insisted. Steve faltered for a moment but Bucky nodded towards Tony and adjusted the grip on his gun.

"Go, I got this." He promised.

"Call if you need help." Steve ordered and Bucky rolled his eyes, a somewhat playful smile on his face.

"Okay, now go." He insisted. Steve ducked into the room and settled next to Tony. The walls were lined with computer screens showing data, lines of code and numbers and most of it was moving too quickly for Steve to catch more than bits and pieces.

"What do you need?" Steve asked and Tony pointed at a screen with relatively stable text compared to the others.

"See that screen? I need you to read information off for me when I ask." Tony instructed. Steve did as instructed, listing off numbers or lines of code as Tony asked for them.

They were there for a short minute and a half before Steve heard gunshots from just outside. "Bucky…" he pulled away from the station to help but Tony caught his arm.

"I need you more, Steve." Tony insisted and Steve swallowed but nodded. Bucky hadn't said anything and hadn't moved from his post just outside the door, so Steve turned back to the screen.

The status quo remained just like that for another four minutes, Steve feeding Tony lines as the man typed rapidly and all the while he could hear gunshots in the background. They finally petered off and Steve glanced at the door. Bucky looked fine as he examined the surrounding room for any hidden enemies. Steve was about to say something when a new voice suddenly echoed into the space, like someone speaking over an intercom.

"Well, captain, it seems the regular enemies won't do. It is an honor to finally meet you, so to speak." The voice said. It had an accent, a German one.

"Zola." Bucky muttered, just loud enough Steve caught it.

"Zola? I thought he was a character?" Steve questioned as he tightened his grip on his shield, keeping an eye on the door more so than the screen.

"You were led to believe so, captain, but I assure you; I am real. It was my very real work that created Sergeant Barnes and the Winter Soldier." Zola informed him and Steve suddenly really wanted to break something. "Of course, I knew the Sergeant would never make a believable character with his real memories still intact, but I underestimated his brain. I did not expect him to be able to recall Sergeant Barnes' memories so well as the Winter Soldier."

"What do you want?" Steve demanded.

"To continue my work, of course. And for that, Nicholas Fury must die." Zola answered. "Now, you can finish the job yourself or simply stay out of the Winter Soldier's way, but if your friend doesn't stop his typing I promise you will regret it."

Tony's typing paused at that. "How? We're safe in here, from you and from any NPC's you send our way." Tony reminded and Zola chuckled.

"Correct, Mr. Stark. You are. The soldier however…" Zola trailed off, but his threat didn't need to be completed as Bucky dropped to his knees with a pain cry. Steve moved to help him, but was stopped by Bucky holding up a hand.

"Don't!" The word was desperate and pleading. "He can't get you in there. I'm fine." Bucky promised through grit teeth.

He didn't look or sound fine as he stayed on his knees panting, but his hand was still up. Keeping Steve from passing the doorway despite the fact they weren't touching. "Bucky…" Steve didn't think he could handle seeing Bucky die again.

A hand landed on his arm and he jumped. It was Tony, keeping him from leaving the room. "Do you trust me?" Tony asked quietly and Steve slowly nodded. Tony let him go and pressed a button on the keyboard. Immediately the power went out everywhere outside their room, but more concerning was Bucky. The brunet had crumpled, unconscious, and then flickered out of existence.

"What did you do?" Steve demanded sharply, his anger fueled by panic.

"A forced logout of everyone in the game, except for us." Tony answered and Steve let out a small breath of relief. Bucky was fine; he'd just been logged out.

"A clever trick, Mr. Stark, but it would be easy for me to return the soldier to the game." Zola said and Tony scoffed.

"Do you take me for an idiot? I shut down all login attempts until further notice. And the only ones who could access the code to change it back are me, right here and now, and Nick Fury himself. Because Red Skull may have taken control of the game, but it's still SHIELD's game." Tony countered. Zola practically snarled but Tony looked very smug. "Good bye." Tony added brightly before he pressed another button and Steve was logged out.


	10. Chapter 10

Steve gasped as he woke up abruptly. He scrambled to get the helmet off and tossed it aside while he fought for air. His inhaler was nearby, thankfully, and a couple puffs got him breathing properly again. His next target was his phone, which he picked up just in time to receive a call from Tony.

"Tony?" He asked.

"Yeah. Get ready to go. I'm coming to pick you up." Tony insisted. Steve's brain was feeling a little sluggish but he got his body moving anyway.

"Where are we going?" He asked as he checked over himself. His shirt was fine but he needed to put on real pants rather than pajamas.

"While you and Zola were talking I finished the code, but I had a little extra time so I searched for Bucky's login point in the real world. He's at a Red Skull facility just outside New York. Fury and the police should both be on their way there already." Tony said and Steve nearly dropped the phone.

The jolt of adrenaline woke him up and Steve hurried to get ready as quickly as he could without stopping the phone. "Tony, you're a genius and I would kiss you if you weren't straight." Steve informed him and Tony laughed.

"Still could; I don't think Pepper would mind too much. But I'll be there in five." Tony said.

"Copy that." Steve confirmed before he hung up. It was much easier to get his pants on with his hands free and he used the bathroom quickly too before grabbing a protein bar and hurrying down to street level. Tony was just pulling up in a red sports car when he got there and Steve didn't waste time before getting in.

Tony didn't even wait until he was properly buckled before he started driving. "It's in the warehouse district, about 25 miles out." Tony informed him after they'd driven in silence for several seconds.

"Thanks, Tony." Steve said softly and the brunet offered him a quick smile.

"It's not just for you I'm doing this. I worked alongside Red Skull to program the AI and NPCs in the game. If anyone should have realized something was off about Bucky it should have been me. It should have been me long before the game went public. So Bucky being hurt, being kept from his family, that's on me." Tony informed him and Steve reached out to squeeze his arm.

"You aren't at fault for this, Tony. Red Skull were the ones who did this to him. You freed him and helped find him." Steve insisted and Tony gave him a flash of a weak insincere smile. "I mean it, Tony." Steve insisted and Tony nodded

"I know. Maybe I'll believe it when I know that Bucky will be alright." Tony finally said and Steve gave his arm another squeeze before pulling his arm back. They spent the rest of the roughly twenty minute drive in silence.

It was obvious which facility they were looking for. There were police cars all over the parking lots, their lights flashing and sirens going, and there was one guarding the gated entrance. There were police officers everywhere inside. Tony stopped next to the man at the entrance. "Can I help you?" The officer demanded.

"I'm Tony Stark, a friend of Fury's, and this is Steve Rogers. We need to get in." He said as he held out his ID. The officer eyed Tony and the driver's license for a moment before he lifted his radio.

"Sir, I have a Tony Stark and Steve Rogers here, asking to enter." He said.

"They're clear. Let them in." Came the immediate response.

"Yes, sir. Go ahead." He waved Tony onward and Tony quickly pulled into the grounds. There were several large buildings but Tony parked near the one with the ambulance waiting outside.

Steve had just gotten out of the car when the door to the building opened and several EMTs came out with a gurney. Steve almost ran up to them to see who was on it. The occupant looked a lot like Bucky and he didn't. They had the same hair color and very similar faces (in the same way Steve's was similar to Nomad's), and even the same basic build.

Well, they would have had the same basic build if the man on the gurney wasn't a hundred pounds or more lighter than Bucky with extraordinarily pale skin that hung off his bones and basically no muscle. He looked fragile, even more than Steve did and that was terrifying. The EMTs let him move next to the bed and he offered a tentative "Bucky?"

The man stirred a little and slowly his eyes opened. They were almost identical to the ones he had in the game and Steve gave him a small smile. "Steve?" He whispered rasply.

"Hey, Buck." He answered softly as he set his hand on Bucky's arm. Bucky gave him a flicker of a smile, while Steve tried not to let his concern show because Bucky's arm felt so very thin under his hands.

"I thought you were taller." Bucky mentioned and Steve nodded.

"Just in the game." He corrected.

"Is's cute." Bucky muttered sleepily, slurring the words a bit as his eyes fluttered.

"They did good on your avatar. You almost look as good in real life." Steve teased, mostly to help keep him awake, and Bucky weakly swatted at his arm. Even that small movement had seemed to exhaust him. "Little more Winter Soldier than Bucky with that hair, though."

Bucky didn't make another attempt to hit him but muttered "Punk." under his breath as a smile played on his lips. They had reached the ambulance and Steve started to move back so they could get Bucky inside when the brunet caught his hand. "Stay with me?" He requestly softly, desperately, and Steve gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"To the end of the line." He promised and Bucky smiled softly before he took a deep breath and nodded off. One of the EMT's gave Steve a warm smile and, after they got Bucky settled, helped him up into the ambulance as well. He took a seat near enough he could hold Bucky's hand and the ambulance started moving as soon as the door was shut and locked.

"Do you know each other?" She asked and Steve nodded.

"In a manner of speaking. I can't tell you about any medical conditions or allergies he has or anything, but I know about what he's been through." Steve answered.

"Can you give us any insight?" The female EMT asked, and the others were listening in too as they got Bucky hooked up to an IV and various monitoring devices.

Steve gently brushed Bucky hand. "He, um, was trapped in a VR game. For the DeepDive Headset? For probably a year or more. The people that did that to him also messed with his head. Somehow they took away his real memories and gave him fake ones. Made him think he was a character in the game. I don't know how." Steve explained. It sounded crazy to say out loud, but the EMTs seemed to roll with it fairly easily.

"I'm Lillian, by the way." The female EMT introduced and Steve smiled at her.

"Steve. And he's… Well… Just call him Bucky." Steve added and she nodded.

"Is that the name from his fake memories?" She asked and Steve nodded. "Tell me about them. VR is very lifelike, right?" She asked and Steve nodded. "Then it's likely his fake memories will affect him as if they were real ones. I want to know what kind of trauma we might be dealing with."

"Okay. Um, so his full name is James Buchannan Barnes, but he goes by Bucky. He was a soldier in a war and got captured. I don't know exactly what happened to him as a POW, it didn't seem important at the time, but I'm pretty sure he was tortured. I rescued him and spent some time with him. Then he fell off a train into a ravine and, I thought, died. There was about a two month gap, in real time, before he showed back up in the game as an assassin called the Winter Soldier. They'd taken his memories of his time as Bucky, but he recalled them when we met again. He said he had at least a memory of the real world, of men taking him from somewhere cold and doing things to him. Hurting him, before they sent him back in." Steve explained.

Lillian was listening closely and nodding along. She seemed to believe him, though Steve wouldn't have blamed her if she didn't. "So, physically we're dealing with atrophied muscles and possibly other standard symptoms of a coma patient, and likely brain damage as well from the memory alterations."

"Likely some form of PTSD, from the fake memories they gave him if not the real ones he's gotten." Another EMT offered and Lillian nodded.

"We should get brain scans as soon as we get to the hospital. And check in with the NYPD, see if they can find any matching missing persons cases. That'll probably be our best bet for finding his real identity." Lillian directed, to nods from the other EMTs. "Thank you for telling me." She added to Steve, who nodded.

"I'd like to stay with him, if I could." Steve requested and Lillian smiled at him.

"Of course. You're basically the closest to a medical authority we have for him for the time being so the doctors will likely want to consult with you, at least." Lillian said and Steve nodded.

He looked down at Bucky and pulled the blanket one of the EMT's had given him a little higher over the brunet's fragile body. "He's going to be alright, won't he?" He asked.

Lillian reached over and touched his hand, the one still resting on Bucky's. "I can't speak for his mental state, but physically, he will be fine. It will be hard work and will take time, but he will recover." She promised.

"He's strong enough to do it." Steve insisted and Lillian smiled.

"Good. But I'm sure he'll need your support too." She reminded gently before she pulled her hand back. Steve just swallowed and looked down at Bucky, who was asleep and breathing steadily. He still looked fragile, but Steve was certain Bucky could pull through this.


	11. Chapter 11

Steve knocked gently on the open door to the hospital room and Bucky gave him a sleepy smile. "Good morning, Buck." Steve greeted.

"Hi, Steve." Bucky answered. He sounded better than he had yesterday, and there was a little more color in his cheeks.

"How are you feeling?" Steve asked as he took a seat next to Bucky's bed. Bucky let out a breath and shrugged before slumping against the pillows. His bed had been elevated so he wasn't really laying down, but he didn't have the strength to hold himself upright for very long yet.

"Better, I suppose. Managed to keep down some broth for breakfast." Steve couldn't help chuckling a little at the aspirated look Bucky gave him; even in the game Bucky had loved trying all kinds of foods and savored his spices so broth had to be so horribly boring. "But god I hate being stuck in bed. In the game, I could pull doors off their hinges and sprint for miles without getting tired. Now I can barely move my hand, can barely make a fist, without getting exhausted. It's frustrating." He admitted.

Steve reached out and brushed Bucky's hand sympathetically. "I know. But you'll get there, Buck. It hasn't even been a day." Steve encouraged and Bucky nodded.

"I know." He agreed softly before he offered Steve a smile. "I'll be alright, Steve."

"Good." Steve gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He wasn't sure what to say next, though he was tempted to ask about how Bucky's memory was coming along. He didn't get a chance as someone knocked on the open door.

"Excuse me, Mr. Barnes?" It was a police officer and her male partner standing in the doorframe. "Can we speak to you?" She asked.

"Yeah." Bucky agreed quietly and they entered the room. Steve moved to leave but Bucky grabbed his hand. "Stay." He requested and Steve nodded before he returned to his seat. "He can stay, right?" Bucky directed to the officers.

They shared a quick look before the greeter nodded. "Yes, that's fine. Mr. Barnes, I'm Detective Sharon Carter, and this is Officer Hodge. We wanted to ask what you remember about what happened to you."

Bucky hesitated for a few moments before he took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, not much. They… Um, Zola? I think his name is Zola. It was in the game. He did something to me, took away my memories of my real life. I can remember what happened in the war. In the game. I was a POW, and tortured, and I know now that Zola programmed that. But I suppose it wasn't actually real. The only real thing I can remember is when I woke up after I fell. I was really weak, even worse than I am now. They forced me to eat and to move. Something about keeping my body from deteriorating too much. And then they sent electric charges through my brain. It messed with my memories, made me forget." Bucky offered.

Officer Hodge was writing quickly while Detective Carter watched Bucky closely, nodding occasionally. "That's plenty to keep them behind bars while we investigate this further, but please let us know if you remember more." Officer Hodge said and Bucky nodded.

"Of course." He agreed softly. Steve squeezed his hand to comfort him and Bucky offered him a quick flash of a smile.

"Mr. Barnes?" Detective Carter spoke and Bucky looked at her again. "We also have some other news. In the hopes of discovering your identity quicker, it was decided that we would start the search focused on missing persons cases in the New York area, given your accent and where you were found. And we think we may have found a match."

Bucky's breath caught in his throat and his mouth opened and closed a few times. "I… What… Who was I?" He finally whispered.

Officer Hodge stepped up to the bed and set a folder down on the table within Bucky's reach. "We believe your name is Sebastian Stan."

Bucky slowly reached out and opened the file. His hand was shaking. Steve couldn't help look over the brunet's shoulder. And sure enough, the large picture on top of all the other papers was of Bucky. Or, of Sebastian, Steve corrected himself. Sebastian's hair was different than Bucky had ever had it, in game or in real life, and Sebastian's eyes lacked the haunted look even Bucky's eyes carried even now. He was handsome and healthy in the picture, with a warm smile on his face. Slowly Bucky set the file back down and despite the fact his hands came to rest on the bed they were shaking. Steve quickly took Bucky's closer hand in his and laced their fingers together, trying to offer any comfort he could.

"Mr. Barnes? There's something else." Detective Carter said and Bucky swallowed. He took a moment before he could meet the officer's eyes. "We brought the Stan's here with us, in the hope they could confirm your identity for us. Do you feel up to meeting them?"

Bucky's breath was shaky and he looked towards Steve. Steve's heart hurt in sympathy to the fear on Bucky's face. "It's your call, Buck, but I won't go anywhere if you don't want me to." Steve promised.

"To the end of the line?" Bucky asked softly and Steve nodded.

"To the end of the line." He promised. Bucky took another breath and Steve saw him push down his fear before he nodded.

"Okay. I'll meet them." He agreed. Detective Carter smiled and nodded before she moved over to the door. She left the room for a minute and no one spoke while they waited for her to come back. Steve shifted closer to Bucky, whose hand was still shaking in his.

"It'll be okay, Buck. No matter what happens you'll always have me." Steve promised softly.

Bucky offered him a tiny smile and a stiff nod, but then there were footsteps outside the door. Detective Carter entered first, followed by a man and a woman who did both bear a certain resemblance to Bucky's real body. To Sebastian. The woman took one look at Bucky lying on the hospital bed and promptly burst into tears as she ran over. She knocked Steve aside as she wrapped Bucky up in her arms.

"Oh, my baby. My sweet Sebastian. You're home. You've come back to us." She was blubbering through her tears. "You're safe now. Mama will take care of you."

Bucky was stiff as a board and frozen in place. Steve could see the panic in his eyes and the way his mouth moved like he wanted to say something but couldn't. Steve, having straightened up after nearly being knocked to the floor, was about to step forward when Mr. Stan moved first. Gently he led the woman back from the bed as he muttered "come on, dear, don't overwhelm him. You remember what the doctor said."

"But… He's… I…" She paused and took a moment to settled herself as she fruitlessly and delicately wiped away the tears from her cheeks. "Yes, yes, you're right." She agreed as Steve cautiously stepped up to the bed.

Bucky had gone pale, losing what little color had returned to his skin, and while his expression was Winter Soldier-esc Steve could see in his eyes how overwhelmed he was. Steve gently touched his hand and the brunet looked towards him. "You okay, Buck?" He asked softly, aware that everyone in the otherwise silent room could hear him.

Bucky nodded stiffly and Steve could see him swallowing like he wanted to say something but no words were coming out of Bucky's mouth. Steve didn't get a chance to ask as Mrs. Stan demanded, almost indignantly, "Who is 'Buck'? And who are you?"

Steve faced her with a neutral expression of his own. "My name is Steve Rogers. I'm one of the men who helped find him and I'm his friend. And _he's_ Bucky." Steve informed her. She looked ready to object, but fell quiet when her husband's hand landed on her arm.

"It seems we owe you our thanks for helping bring our son home." Mr. Stan said.

"You don't need to thank me." Steve couldn't help glancing at Bucky as he continued. "I would have done it anyway. He's a good man, and my best friend." Bucky gave him a small smile back and even reached out to take Steve's hand. Steve sat back on the bed when Bucky tugged him weakly in that direction with their laced fingers. Steve was doing his best to ignore the looks of disbelief on the Stan's faces, and working even harder not to think about why.

"Excuse me, officer, but when will we be able to take Sebastian home?" Mrs. Stan asked.

Officer Hodge coughed. "I'm afraid we can't answer that, ma'am. I'm not his doctor." Officer Hodge finally offered as an answer and Mrs. Stan frowned, crossing her arms.

"Then I want to speak to the doctor. Immediately." She practically demanded. Steve bristled at her tone, because what gave her the right to think she could just demand to see a no doubt busy doctor at a moments notice? But Bucky's grip on his hand, while weak, was firm enough it kept him in place on the bed.

"Well, you certainly seem to be busy today, Bucky." A new voice came from the door and Steve's head snapped up. Standing there was none other than Bucky's doctor, a man called Stephen Strange.

"Hi, doc." Bucky muttered and Dr. Strange wove past everyone else to stand on the other side of his patient's bed. He started running a few tests, noting the results as he did.

"How are you feeling today?" Dr. Strange asked as he worked.

"Tired." Bucky answered and the doctor nodded.

"That's to be expected. You managed to keep down broth this morning?" Dr. Strange asked and Bucky nodded. "Okay. I'm going to have you try something a little heavier for lunch." Strange lowered the tablet he was using and glanced around the room before he asked his next question. "And how's your memory?"

Bucky hesitated for a few moments, only answering when Steve gave him hand a squeeze. "Unchanged. I remember some of being Bucky and I remember being the Winter Soldier and the one moment in between, but nothing else." He finally said.

Mrs. Stan gasped almost theatrically. "You don't remember us, Sebastian?" She sounded like it was a personal insult and her hand was covering her mouth as her eyes watered. Bucky flinched and offered the tiniest shake of his head. His hands were shaking again and Steve had never wanted to throw a woman out a window before, but he certainly did now.

Thankfully Dr. Strange beat him to the punch. With an audible click that amazingly echoed in the room Dr. Strange slid the pen back into its place in his tablet before he turned to face the Stan's. "Now you listen to me closely. This man is my patient, and one who has been through more than his share of bad things. If you frighten him or even make him nervous again I will have you escorted out of the building and revoke your visitation rights. Do I make myself clear?"

Both husband and wife swallowed, but the husband spoke first. "Yes. I apologize for my wife. She's just… well, Sebastian is our only boy and he's been missing for almost 18 months and we were so sure we had lost him forever. It's just… not easy for us, you know?" He offered gently. Steve could tell right away it was something of a plea for sympathy and he had to hold back a snort of laughter at the look Dr. Strange fixed them with. He clearly wasn't buying it either.

"Not easy for you? Right. And you think this is easy on Bucky either? He's essentially been in a coma for 18 months, except it's worse. He's had men experimenting on his brain with no regard for his well being. Men who hurt him and took away his memories. Who gave him the memories of a soldier who spent months as a POW, only for them to take those too and try to turn him into a killer. You want sympathy from me? Tough luck. My concern is making sure that Bucky lives his best life possible despite everything that's been done to him. You don't want to respect that then get out." Dr. Strange even pointed at the door, not even the slightest trace of a joke in his voice.

Steve admired the doctor all the more in that moment, while Bucky was staring at the man with wide eyes. Mrs. Stan coughed and straightened up, adjusting her jacket and getting herself collected before she met Dr. Strange's eyes. "Of course I want what's best for my son. We'll go for now, but expect to hear from us soon. Officers, I have some questions for you." She snapped before she left the room.

Her husband followed, though he cast one last glance back at Bucky. His expression was concerned until his gaze landed on Steve's and Bucky's clasped hands. Then it turned into something firm. Officer Hodge stood as Detective Carter sighed. "Sorry about that, Dr. Strange." She said and the doctor waved off the apology.

"I don't envy you. Best not keep the harpy waiting." Dr. Strange advised and Hodge gave them all a look that said 'heaven help me'. Then he followed Carter out of the room.

To both their surprise, Bucky interrupted the prevailing silence first. "Thanks, doc." Dr. Strange looked at him and Bucky offered him a quick smile. Dr. Strange returned it with a genuine one of his own.

"It's nothing less than what you deserve. I've met plenty like that; individuals who try to make tragedies all about themselves. It's never fair to the actual victim." Dr. Strange gently gave Bucky's left shoulder a squeeze, though neither man missed Bucky's instinctive flinch just before the hand landed. "I'll come by later to check on you again, but don't be afraid to let a nurse know if you need me." The doctor insisted and Bucky nodded.

"Thanks again, doc." He repeated and Dr. Strange gave both him and Steve a smile before he left the room. They fell into another pervasive silence, only interrupted by the ticking of the clock mounted on the wall. Finally Bucky sighed heavily and slumped back into the pillows, his body limp. Steve was only mostly sure Bucky was joking when he groaned "Is it too late to go back into the game?"

Steve couldn't help chuckling softly and gave Bucky's hand a squeeze. "Probably." He answered and Bucky sighed.

"Damn." He grumbled before he finally met Steve's eyes. "Thanks for being here, Stevie." He almost whispered and Steve smiled at his friend.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He promised, which got a flicker of a smile from Bucky before the brunet closed his eyes and nodded off almost immediately, his fingers still entwined with Steve's.

* * *

**AN: My sincerest apologies to Sebastian Stan's family, I'm sure they're lovely people.**


	12. Chapter 12

"Excuse me, what?!" That was the loudest Steve had heard Bucky since before the fall. He heard his friend's frustrated shout from down the hall and picked up his pace, jogging the rest of the way to the brunet's hospital room. Inside was Bucky, of course, alongside Detective Carter and Officer Hodge, Dr. Strange, and the Stan's. Bucky looked furious. He was seething from his place on the bed while the Stan's both looked resolute. Dr. Strange looked subtly frustrated. Detective Carter was obviously trying to keep her expression professional and Office Hodge looked almost confused.

"Dr. Strange, if you would." Mrs. Stan held out a piece of paper towards the doctor.

"Mrs. Stan, I understand your concerns, but the simple fact is I cannot do what you are asking. Bucky is more than capable of making medical decisions for himself and I cannot legally or morally qualify him otherwise, no matter what you imply. And I doubt you are qualified to make that distinction." Dr. Strange explained a touch sharply.

Steve was grateful for his small body at the moment because it meant he could slip into the room and weave his way to Bucky's bedside without attracting too much attention. Bucky was still fuming and his head snapped like he'd been startled towards Steve long before the blond spoke. Even in the real world, Bucky was acutely aware of when someone was near him to the point it was almost unnerving sometimes to Steve (not that he could talk; he'd picked up a few paranoid quirks after fighting in the War too).

"What's going on?" Steve asked softly, just to Bucky, and the brunet huffed, about to reply but he got interrupted.

"And get that boy out of here. I don't want him around my son." Mr. Stan ordered sharply, which made both Steve and Bucky jump.

"You can go to hell if you think I'm kicking Steve out!" Bucky snapped back hotly. Steve was a little glad because it didn't look like Bucky was going to have nearly as much trauma to deal with from his time as the Winter Soldier as Steve had feared.

"I won't have a… gay around my son." Mr. Stan declared, faltering slightly like he was watching what he said, and Steve just blinked at the accusation. While he was kind of just confused everyone else in the room bristled. Including Bucky, who looked very much like an enraged murderous Winter Soldier and for a brief moment Steve wondered if, because of the memories given to him, he actually knew how to kill someone. Because he really looked like he wanted to kill Mr. Stan.

"Get out." Bucky snarled into the silent room and his parents flinched.

"Sebastian…" Mrs. Stan started but she fell quiet at the glare Bucky shot at her.

"I said get out." He repeated.

Neither of them moved and Dr. Strange stepped forward, putting himself between Bucky and the Stan's. "You heard him. Leave, or I will call security." Dr. Strange warned.

"He can't kick us out. Who else will pay for his medical expenses?" Mrs. Stan declared, like it was some revelation that made her utterly important.

But before anyone else could say something, none other than Tony Stark spoke up from the doorway. "I will. Or, more accurately, I would have, if SHIELD hadn't already offered to pay for them. So he's totally covered." Tony entered the room with a confident smirk and Steve smiled, relaxing slightly.

"Hey, Tony." Steve said softly. Tony nodded at him before he looked at Bucky.

"Hey, terminator. You don't look so good in real life, but nice to know that glare is still there." Tony added to Bucky, whose glare changed into something a little unsure.

"Iron Man." Steve informed him softly and Bucky nodded.

"Ah. Hi." Bucky greeted hesitantly and Tony gave him a brilliant smile. The man turned to face Bucky's parents, who were looking at him in shock, and crossed his arms.

"You must be his parents. I am sorry for what happened to Bucky. I'm sorry for not realizing what was happening to him sooner and putting a stop it to. But I won't let you take him away when he doesn't want to go. I owe him at least that much." Tony warned coldly.

Mrs. Stan looked ready to argue but her husband nudged her towards the door. "Let's go, dear. I'm sure the lawyers can fix this atrocity." He said it just loudly enough everyone in the room heard it and then they were gone.

Bucky slumped into the pillows, clearly exhausted, as the rest of the room let out a breath of relief. Steve took Bucky's hand and the brunet offered him a weak smile as they laced their fingers together. "Dr. Strange, what was that about?" Steve asked after Bucky had closed his eyes again.

The doctor looked at them for a moment before he let out a heavy breath. "They were trying to get me to sign a document stating that their son was mentally unfit to make decisions for himself, thus giving those decisions to his parents. They want to transfer him to another hospital of their choosing, as well as decide who would be allowed visitation." The last part was obviously directed at Steve.

"Those…" Tony just growled in frustration instead of answering. After a moment he turned to the bed. "Don't worry, terminator. They try to press a case, my legal team will be at your disposal." Tony promised and Bucky offered him a flash of a small smile.

"Thanks." Bucky said softly, exhaustedly, and Tony mellowed out immediately as he nodded.

"So, how you doing?" Tony asked and Bucky tried to shrug, but his shoulders barely shifted and he slumped into the pillows with a soft groan. Tony winced in sympathy while Steve squeezed his hand.

"I hate feeling so weak." He muttered. "And the food sucks." He added, sincerely but lightheartedly, and Tony laughed.

"Well, you can stomach broth, right?" Tony asked and he nodded. Tony whipped out his phone and quickly did something with it before smiling at them both. "I ordered us some food from the nearby Chinese place, including some miso soup for you." He informed them.

Steve just smiled and squeezed Bucky's hand. The brunet looked at him and squeezed it back. "Can I ask you a question, Buck?" Steve said and Bucky raised an eyebrow. "I mean, other than that one." He added and Bucky smiled at him.

"Course." Bucky agreed.

Steve took a breath before he asked "Are you gay?"

Bucky didn't answer right away, just sort of tilted his head while he thought about it. "Uh, maybe? I think so, but in the game I didn't really… I wasn't capable of feeling sexual attraction. It wasn't... programmed in." He offered and Steve could only nod. "But I like holding your hand." He added and Steve smiled at him.

"I like holding your hand too." Steve promised as he shifted a little closer to Bucky until their sides were pressed together. Bucky rolled his head over to rest it against Steve. Tony was watching them with a little smile on his own face, and all three of them jumped when someone knocked on the door.

Bucky groaned softly and muttered "who is it?" far too softly for anyone outside the closed door to hear. Tony took it upon himself to find out and opened the door.

"Can I help you?" He asked, which clued Steve in that it wasn't a nurse.

"Um, is this Sebastian's room?" A female voice asked and Tony nodded. "I'm his sister. Rebecca. Can I see him?"

Tony glanced at Steve and Bucky, who sighed and nodded tiredly. "Yeah. Come in." Tony stepped back, allowed Rebecca to join them in the room.

She was hesitant, obviously worried, until her eyes landed on Bucky. She smile was immediate, but cautious and she stepped towards them only to pause. "Um, hi. Do you… um. I heard you have amnesia?" She offered and Bucky nodded. "So you don't recognize me?" She asked.

"Sorry, no." Bucky answered honestly and she swallowed before she nodded.

"Well, it is what it is. Can't change it and it's a lot better than you being dead." She stepped up to the bed and held out a hand. "I'm Rebecca, your little sister."

"No you're not." Bucky answered almost playfully, a ghost of a smile on his own face, and her smile widened just a fraction.

"Fine. I'm your big sister." She corrected. Bucky moved slowly but could barely get his hand more than a few inches off the bed and it was shaking. She reached down to meet it and held it. "Do you have a name you go by?"

"Bucky." He answered and she laughed, but it wasn't mocking.

"Sorry, just… Bucky? Really? That's so old fashioned." She commented and Bucky actually pouted a little. She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. "Hey, I'm your big sister. If I can't tease you, no one can." She said and Bucky actually snorted a laugh.

"I believe that." He answered and she smiled brighter.

"Oh, I haven't got your name yet." She added to Steve.

Steve held out his hand over Bucky's body, which she accepted and shook. "I'm Steve Rogers. I'm one of the guys who found Bucky. Kinda." He answered.

"Nice to meet you, Steve. Thank you very much for bringing my brother home." She added seriously and Steve nodded. Rebecca pulled her hand back and sighed. "Also, I'm sorry about mom and dad. I knew they were homophobic, but to try and get your doctor to call you mentally unstable to keep Steve away is just…" She shook her head with a heavy sigh. "Anyway, not everyone in the family is as rude and know that you have my support no matter what."

"Thanks." Bucky said softly and she nodded. She took his free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I should hurry back before they get worried, but call me anytime you need anything, okay?" She requested.

"I don't know your number. Or have a phone." He admitted quietly. She pulled out a business card and gave it to Steve.

"I assume you do have a phone he can borrow?" She asked and Steve nodded. "Good. Then once you get a phone you can contact me or just use Steve's." She added to Bucky before she left just as suddenly as she'd arrived.

Bucky watched her go with a slightly furrowed expression. Steve nudged him with his shoulder and Bucky glanced at him. "You okay?" Bucky nodded.

"Yeah, I just… Her eyes and voice. They were familiar." Bucky admitted and Steve smiled. He nudged Bucky again, gently, and got a small smile out of the brunet.

"That's good, you know." Steve insisted and Bucky nodded.

"I know." He agreed, but his smile was gone and he looked tired. "I think I'm going to rest until the food is here." He informed the other men.

"Alright. Sleep well, Bucky." Steve said. Bucky didn't give him the usual smile and just closed his eyes, but he was still resting his head on Steve's torso and the blond had no motivation to move him.


End file.
